Physics 307 is a laboratory based course in Mechanics and Modern Physics, mainly associated with the subject matter of Physics 241 and Physics 311. Physics 307 is usually the first Modern Physics Laboratory at the intermediate level taken by Physics majors. Students meet once a week and during the course of the semester do six experiments.

Experiments

The current experiments are:

Elements of Gamma-ray Counting and Gamma ray Spectroscopy.

Frank-Hertz Experiment.

Probability Distributions and Decay of Excited Quantum States.

Photoelectric Effect.

Attenuation of Gamma-rays in Matter.

Stefan-Boltzmann Law and and Planck's Law

The write-up for the
Photoelectric Effect (PDF) experiment
is shown here. Students generally work with a lab partner and keep a lab notebook which is graded on a weekly basis. There is an emphasis on proper error analysis of data. It is recommended that students who will go on to graduate level experimental physics follow this course with Physics 407, Advanced Laboratory.